Page 35 of Pride High 2: Orange

“You can’t argue with the results. Think about it though. I won’t have a mouth full of metal anymore. Thathasto improve my romantic potential.”

“I don’t know,” Silvia murmured. “Remember at the pool last year, when that old guy wouldn’t stop talking about how much he liked your braces?”

“Yuck! I thought he was an orthodontist at first, but he was an accountant.”

“He’s probably an inmate by now,” Silvia replied. “What a creep.”

They resumed watching the movie, not that she paid much attention to the plot. Silvia felt better though. It was normal to have doubts, and it wasn’t her fault that she found Anthony attractive. Her worries dissipated like they only did when she hung out with Mindy on the weekends. Silvia shoved her troubles aside and relaxed. Until the movie ended and her best friend ejected the VHS tape from the VCR.

“What should we do now?” Mindy asked.

“I need your help with something,” Silvia replied. “No questions asked.”

Mindy nodded. “You’ve got it.”

“Cool. Let’s go to your room.”

Once there, Silvia unzipped her overnight bag and took out a giftwrapped VHS tape. “You know where Ricky lives, right? You picked him up the other day?”

“I think I can find his house again,” Mindy said, sitting on the bed and tucking her legs beneath her. “I used to have a friend who lived on the same street. Why? Is that for him? Oh my god! Do you have a crush on Ricky? Is that why you’re having doubts about Omar?”

Close but not quite. “I said no questions asked.”

“Yeah, but this is major!”

“I don’t have a crush on Ricky,” Silvia assured her.

“Then who is the present for? Can I see it?”

“No!” That would give away everything, since the package still had a gift tag addressed to Omar. From Ricky.

“Fine,” Mindy said with a sigh of resignation. “As your best friend, I won’t ask. Although, as best friends, we really shouldn’t keep secrets from each other.”

If there was one person Silvia could trust, outside of her own family, it was Mindy. “You’re right. Something happened on the way to Omar’s birthday party. I saw Ricky walking there. He stumbled out into the street and passed out as I was driving down it. He was on a bunch of pills, so I don’t think he remembers any of this. But I was the one who drove him to the urgent care center.”

“Silvia!” Mindy said, rising up on her knees. “How wonderful! Why would you ever hide that?”

“Because the woman at the reception desk said I would be in the newspaper.”

“So? Oh!Oooooh.”

Silvia watched her friend put the pieces together, not needing to explain.

“Your parents,” Mindy concluded.

“Yes. Exactly.”

“So what’s with the gift?”

Silvia handed it to her. “Ricky left this in my truck.”

Mindy noticed the nametag and read it. “Uh oh.”

“Yeah. I couldn’t just deliver it to Omar’s house. Ricky never made it there.”

“So you want to break into Ricky’s house and put the tape in his room? That’s what this is, right?” Mindy shook the gift. “It sounds like a VHS tape.”

“Gotta be,” Silvia confirmed. “And no, I don’t want to break in or I’ll end up in the newspaper for another reason.”